Is PCB Forced To Make Rizwan Captain: Former Pakistan cricketer Mudassar Nazar believes that the PCB is forced to make wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan their new captain because there is no other candidate left for the position.
Babar Azam has resigned from the white-ball captaincy of the Pakistan Cricket Team for the second time in a year. The first time he did so was in late 2023. Back then, pacer Shaheen Afridi was named the limited-overs. His stint ended poorly after losing a home series to New Zealand. Before the 2024 T20 World Cup, Babar was renamed the captain.
Azam’s resignation comes at an odd time. The Men in Green have not played a white ball game since the T200 World Cup in June of this year. In that tournament, the Asian giants lost their matches to arch-rivals India and associate team the United States and were kicked out of the group stage. Nor is Pakistan playing limited-overs cricket till about a month from now.
Pakistan has played a two-match Test series at home to Bangladesh in the meantime under red-ball captain Shan Masood. This series resulted in them losing a Test match to the Bangla Tigers for the first time as Bangladesh won the series 2-0.
There is a case to be made that the Pakistan team has never had such poor strings of results in a very long time. 2024 is turning out to be a generationally bad year for this team.
But it seems that there is change afoot. With Babar Azam resigning as the captain, Rizwan has emerged as the prime candidate to take that spot, seeing he is among the seniormost and the most high-profile player in the team.
Is PCB Forced To Make Rizwan Captain
However, Muddasar Nazar believes that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is not a fan of the idea of Mohammad Rizwan becoming the captain of the national team. But the board might not have any choice in the matter.
In a recent interview with Cricket Pakistan, Nazar had this to say:
“Right now, they don’t have any choice left. They’ve tried everyone except Rizwan. They’ll have to make Rizwan the captain. I don’t think the inner circle and top management are very happy with Rizwan, but they’ll be forced to choose him.”
The 68-year-old then went on to say that it is better to name a senior player the captain rather than grooming a young star for that position.
“If they go for a younger player, it will turn into the same situation like with Babar Azam. It’s better to make a senior player the captain and then groom someone under him. In my opinion, it would be better for Pakistan to make Rizwan the captain for all three formats,” he said.
Rizwan has found some success as a captain as of late in the Pakistani domestic circuit. In 2024, he took the Multan Sultans to the final of the Pakistan Super League. Then, he took the Markhors to the final of the Champions One-Day Cup as well.
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